Guardian
Guardians are the result of the Necromorph infection anchoring a torso to flesh growing on the walls. One can usually tell when one is nearby when moaning, groaning, or screaming is heard. However, some have been observed as being silent until engaged in combat. Guardians are sentries, set up by the Necromorphs to defend certain, often mission critical, areas. Unable to move and attack enemies unless they move up close to the Guardian, Guardians utilize embryonic spawn, known as Pods, that spit out in front of themselves which will aid in attacking detected threats. Unlike many Necromorphs the infected human seems to retain consciousness, hence the constant moans and wails of pain, rather than simply acting as a lifeless host. The circumstances by which this occurs have not been made clear. If this is the case, however, they will be one of the few (aside from the Hunter) Necromorphs created from a living host. The Guardians always appear to be part of the Corruption. They do not produce the Pods, rather the Corruption produces them and the Guardians only act as outputs. Description and Evolution First: Immature An immature Guardian is a human torso that has just recently been attached to a wall infested with Necromorph growth and has just begun to mutate. The Immature Guardian still looks very human as it still has an unchanged head, arms and chest until the waist-down, where the abdomen is vertically split apart with the entrails hanging out. The human host is clearly still clinging onto life and will plea to Isaac for help in a weak and disturbingly augmented voice when alerted. Extremely weak and lethargic, the Immature Guardian is incapable, or unwilling, of performing its matured brethren's lethal attacks and cannot host spawn. At the very most, they will play dead until approached close-up (or alerted when a light is shone in their face) where the infection will attempt to cause damage by flailing out their hosts relatively-short intestines over which the host has no control and will continue to plea for help. The creatures are 100% avoidable; the only way you can really be damaged by one is to walk up to it on purpose. Don't waste ammo on them, unless you feel like putting them out of their misery. If you use Kinesis on their body, they will moan in pain as you are trying to pull them off the wall. They will die in a matter of seconds if you constantly pull on them. No Immature Guardians are seen in Dead Space 2. Final: Mature A torso that has been given sufficient time to mutate and develop in Necromorph growth, the Mature Guardian is the most dangerous of the varieties encountered. Most of the human features of the host body are unrecognizable at this stage of its evolution and, as such, they look more like disgusting living, breathing mounds of flesh. They also tend to scream and cry out like their immature versions, so could potentially possess a fragment of their minds. However, if they do, they have no control whatsoever over their body. Their defensive capabilities in comparison to an Immature Guardian are greatly enhanced. They will not hesitate to continuously spew out Guardian Pods when a threat is detected, and will also utilize their whip-like intestines to unerringly behead enemies that get too close to them, leaving an opponent no choice but to engage them with ranged weapons. Strategy *If possible, keep your distance from the Guardian at all costs. Attempting to get close to use a flamethrower is usually fatal, as the Guardian launches a bladed tentacle from it's torso which can decapitate Isaac instantly. *As long as you can engage the Guardians at range, you should have minimal difficulty. Guardians are immobile and can't pursue you - although you will often have to kill them to get past. *If there is an explosive canister nearby, throw it at the opening on the Guardian's chest for an easy kill. *If using a precision weapon such as the Plasma Cutter or Pulse Rifle, stasis the guardian and/or shoot each of the red round blobs that the guardians spreads out to every side. A few shots and each blob should be cut off, sever each one (about 7-8) to kill the creature. This can be far more ammo efficient than attempting to kill it by shooting it directly in the chest with the Cutter or Rifle, especially on Impossible (Dead Space 1) or Zealot/Hardcore (Dead Space 2) Mode. *Guardians spit out pods which will open fire on you with a ranged attack. The pods will also detonate if you come too close to them, so don't try to stomp them to death. The pods can be easily dispatched by severing their tentacle with the weapon of your choice. *Severing all the Guardian's tentacles from its chest will kill it instantly. *A few well-placed Line Rack Mines will take down a Guardian in short order; however, make sure not to be hit by the pods while you're laying your mines! *A fully upgraded (DMG Nodes at least) Force Gun can dispatch all tentacles in one shot at close range. Although it usually takes 2 shots to take out the pods. *The Force Gun's secondary fire bombs are an easy way to dispatch guardians. Aim high above the Guardian's head, and lob the bomb directly into its chest to cause heavy damage. Make sure to aim carefully, however, as the bombs may bounce off and roll away if they do not connect with your target. *On higher difficulties, it's a good idea to conserve your ammunition by ignoring the pods until after the Guardian is dead. With a bit of timing, you can evade the projectiles they shoot while you sever the tentacles of the Guardian, and once the Guardian is dead, the pods won't respawn. *Do not open fire on a Mature guardian until it has released its tentacles onto the wall it is anchored to. If you shoot it before it notices you, you won't do any damage. *Guardians can one-hit-kill Isaac if you get too close. Keep your distance whenever fighting one. *If you put a Guardian under stasis and stay just out of reach of its fatal attack, you can sever all of its tentacles with a single Ripper blade (although on higher difficulties, you'll need to upgrade the damage a bit to pull it off. This is a high-risk tactic, however - should it fire a pod directly behind you, the immediate explosion will propel you right into its bladed tentacles and kill you instantly. Placing the Guardian in stasis before it can launch its pod is a good idea to keep your bases covered. *One shot from the detonator is usually enough to kill them. *One shot from a fully upgraded Javelin gun, followed by alt-fire, will completely destroy a Guardian Death Scene thumb|Right|250px|Death Sequence by a Guardian *If you get too close to a Guardian, the Guardian will shoot a tentacle out of its chest and decapitate Isaac. Isaac's body will try to feel what is remaining of his head before stumbling to the ground. :*Isaac's torso can also be taken out with a cut to the waist. :*The tentacles can also rip Isaac apart after decapitation, although it is rare that this happens. :*If Isaac is killed by an exploding pod, he is thrown backward and usually has a limb or two amputated. :*Although this is pretty rare, considering only the clumsiest of players would have this happen to them, if an immature Guardian manages to connect an attack to Isaac while he is at a very low state of health, he will be torn in half by the waist. Trivia *After dispatching a Mature Guardian, if the player listens closely they can hear the human host give a sigh of relief at the end of the creature's death animation. *The Tentacle that a Mature Guardian uses to dispatch Isaac's head seems to originate out of the the mouth of the Guardian. *A dead guardian may still twitch occasionally after death. If a dead guardian is melee'd repeatedly in Dead Space 2, they may spit out an extremely long (20+ foot) red spiked tentacle, possibly the one that would have been used in its instant-kill animation. Gallery File:Immature_Guardian.jpg|An immature guardian 788782-guardian super.jpg|A mature guardian stretches its tentacles guardian.png|guardian game modelKyle Winkelman's Game Model guardian_textured.jpg|game render Dead-Space-2008-10-25-18-30-55-51.png|A guardian decapitates Isaac Appearances *''Dead Space'' *''Dead Space 2'' Sources